Method of treating ores.



PATENTED MAY 14. 1907.

J. W. BOILBAU.

METHOD OF TREATING GEES.

APPLICATION FILED HOV 7, 1902 UNITED sT T s PA'IENT OFFICE.

JAMES W. BOlL-EAU, ()l lflfiilidill, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR OF ONltl-HALF TO LAMBS B. KNUBLUOK, 0F DENVER, COLORADO.

METHOD OF TREATING GEES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 14, 1907.

Original application filed February 25, 1W2, Serial H0. 95.626. Divided and this aiiplication filed liovambe: 7,1902. iieiial 80.130 894- I'o m! whom it nmy mnflrzrrra;

Bo iiknown that l, .lnmis W. lif'llLEAU, a vitizi-n of tho Unitml States. llhiilll'lfi til Donvvr, in the lfulllli) of i'llkljnlllui and Stats of (.oloi'mlo, have invcotoil cvrisin now and nsvl'ul Iinn'ovcnicnLs in Mctiiuds cl Tooling ()n-s: ou 1 do i'loclurc tho iolluu ing; to bc a lull, vicar, and exam? description ol" the invcnlion, such as will omililc ULllf'j't skillod in the artv to wliii-li it 2l.[l; fi.2liilr1 to nmkc and use tho some, i'cfeyvni-ii living; lisul in the sci-om punying drawings, and lo tho lotions and lip;- urcs of rci'clsnco marked Lin-won. which form a. part of this spcciiication.

My invention portions to on iinprmmnisnt; in tho ti'eaiinont (willlflllllllfGIUUS oi'cs. whoreliy, in It. ready, inoxponsivo, practical and of feciivi" nmnnor, tho valncs are separated from the dotci'rent olmnonis ;3 S(]!'lftil(l thin?- with, and exruclml uinl sin-oil in metallic form.

W'hilu my n'wthoil piiiiiculiul as lmrsinaftcr sot l'oiiii, lo lire i i comic! ores, ccriuin ps lhcicoi' arc also sil- 'vontagcously employed in l'llU iieuinicni of gold and silver ol'cs.

My invention consists in :1 method of eliminating the dctcrrvnt Moments. putting the copper in solution, scpin'oting ihc solution from foreign motto? and. 'irccipiliaiiug the copper in inctsllic form, as hereinafter par-- tioularly described and claimccl.

In the awonipanying drawings, i have illustrutmi a form of apparatus la nwansoi which my pi'ocess nm'y be advantageously carried out, hut'l do not wish. to he limited to a process performed in any particular nppm rotus, as it may he usgvl in slight modifications of apparatus now commonly Employed with other methods.

In those drawin s in which llliQE li-ttv-rs of referoncc indicate coirespomling parts throughout, Figure l a View in elevation, partly in seotion of apparatus adapted to my roocss; Fig. 2 i ion sectional View on the ins 2-2 of Fig. 1-; Fig. .3 is. a fragmentary detail of a portion of tho apparatus.

Rcining to the drawings more: in'dctail, A represents the main tank wherein the ore is first separated from its deterrent. clmnonts and utinto solution.

B is the tank in which the cop'por is precipi,-'

. iipcs saving any solids carried over in theivspors from tank B.

l) is a pipe for supplying crushed ore to the tankA. I

E is-o. pipe having connection by valved brunch pipes, F, F F, F and F7, all meot-' ing in ihc enlargement or bulb F with sources of supply of gas water, acids, brine and compressed air, which may be supplied singly or. in combination as desired, The pips i 1- tci'niinmcs below a. foraminous distrihotingf plate in the converging bottom of tlxctsnl; A, as shown at G. Tap ing the look A are the vcnticolly arrange valved nines H meeting in the common pipe I, by means of which Booted impurities, such as vsgeishls carbon and other light, matter, are withdrawn from the top downward. In'the lows? J and K, the former for withdrawing so ids not put in solution, and the latter conoiing with the lower pnrf oi isnl; .13 below Eh it. terminates in cdistrihuting plate L similar to the plain G in tank A. It will his umicrstoml that, if desired, a porfoi ated coil oi pipe only be substituted for tho foraminous plates.

In the bottom of the tank 8 is the valved discharge M for removing the precipitate, and leading from the, upper portion of tho tank is the vapor discharge pipe N termina ing in. a. perforated coil 0 in the bottom of the tank C whiirh is adapted to he partially illml with Wsisi and is provided with tho relic? pi'po P, draw-off Q and the trap R. S represents a; pipe leading from an air coniprcssor and hcatcrond tapping the pi e'K' intermediate the two tanks A and B, w ere by hot sir under pressure may be suppl ed to and distributed throu hout the contonts of the tank B. Prcfemb y, this pipe s instead, of being an independent ipe, is'ni. Jo branch. from the pipe E, as illustrated, its operation being the satnie'in either case.

in practice, the ore, finely crushed, is fed iniio the tank A. Water, preferoblyhot, is iilflflillTHQ-Ll. into the pipv l5 by way of tin hnlh F and thence into thc'tsnk A, being ihoroughly distributed throughout the c te the pipes 11, opening the some from thtiiii and (downward, thus carrying away tho floating impurities, including to a considerable ex tent lime, antimony, sulfur and arsenic. After this preliminary treatment, by a proper manipulation of the valves. water at the boiling point together with flPPI'UXlIllELiJQlY five percent. of sulfuric acid and one to ti '0 percent. of salt are forced throu h the ore in the so manner from the bulb l the pipe E, and the plate G. This mixture is caused to thoroughly saturate the ore. The supply is then shut off, and a blast of hot air at from 250 to 300 is turned on and continueljor from one-half to two hours under pressure,

when the copper in the ore will he found to he in solution and ma ho wi lidrawn throu h the pipe K into the tanks B and L for preeipitation in known inanner, while the residue is discharged through wipi w and, other metals are presrnt, may he whjectcd to concentration, anutlgarnatiou, t. such further treatment as ma be suitable. It will be understood that t e proportions of the acid solution and length of treatment will vary with different ores. r

This application is a division of an application filed by me on the th day of February, 1902, Serial Number 95,626, said division hcin in compliance with the requirement of the office.

Havin thus fully described my invention, L what I Ci ltlln as new and desire to secure by l Letters Patent, is: i j 1. The method of treating ores wl'iich consists in putting the copper in solution by subjecting the ore in a pulverized condition to the action of a solution of an acid, salt and water in the presence of air under pres sure. i 2. The method of treating ores which conl sists n putting the copper in solution by subl jccting the ore in a. finely pulverized condilion to the action of sulfuric acid, salt and i water and to hot air under pressure. I In testimony whereof, I uliix my signature r in presence of tw witnesses.

JAMES TV. BOILEAU. i Witnesses:

AiiNa'r'rA PAFLSTJEN, I illABEL JONES. 

